Emergency Department Visits and Hospitalizations for Injuries Among Infants and Children Following Statewide Implementation of a Home Visitation Model

To compare hospital-based utilization for early childhood injuries between program recipients and local-area comparison families following statewide implementation of an evidence-based home visitation program, and to describe site-level program variation. Propensity score matching on baseline characteristics was used to create a retrospective cohort of Nurse-Family Partnership (NFP) clients and local area matched comparison women. The main outcome, a count of injury visit episodes, was enumerated from Medicaid claims for injuries examined in an emergency department or hospital setting during the first 2?years of life of children born to included subjects. Generalized linear models with a Poisson distribution examined the association between injury episode counts and NFP participation, controlling for other non-injury utilization and stratifying by individual agency catchment area in a fixed effects analysis. The children of NFP clients were more likely in aggregate to have higher rates of injury visits in the first 2?years of life than the children of comparison women (415.2/1,000 vs. 364.2/1,000, P?相似文献   

What Does It Mean When We Screen? A Closer Examination of Perinatal Depression and Psychosocial Risk Screening Within One MCH Home Visiting Program

Perinatal depression screening has become an imperative for maternal and child health (MCH) home visitation programs. However, contextual life experiences and situational life stress may be equally important in determining program response. As one component of a larger research study with an urban MCH home visitation program, we examined the results from multiple measures of depression and anxiety symptoms, social support and stressful life events in a sample of 30 newly enrolled program participants. We compared commonly used tools in identifying women who were “at risk” for perinatal depression. The analysis used published and agency practice cut-off scores, examined correlations between measures, and reflected on the role of stressful life events in this assessment. In this low-income, predominantly African-American sample, the assessed tools were inconsistent in identifying “at risk” women for perinatal depression, ranging from 22 % (Edinburgh Perinatal Depression Scale) to 75 % (Center for Epidemiological Studies, Depression Scale) depending on the instrument. Depression and anxiety were correlated across most measures, although provider-collected data did not correlate as anticipated with other measures. The combination of screening for perinatal depression and stressful life events offered an additional perspective on possible symptom alleviation and psychosocial intervention that could occur within the home visiting program. Our experience suggests that introducing a brief inventory of stressful life events accompanying perinatal depression screening allowed for a more comprehensive understanding of women’s experiences than perinatal depression screening alone. We encourage psychosocial risk screening which integrates assessment of social support, stressful life events and perinatal depression symptoms.     

Public health nursing care for adolescent mothers: impact on infant health and selected maternal outcomes at 1 year postbirth.

PURPOSE: To compare effects of an early intervention program (EIP) of intense home visitation by public health nurses (PHNs) with effects of traditional public health nursing care (TPHN) on infant health and selected maternal outcomes of adolescent mothers. METHODS: EIP adolescents (N = 102) received preparation-for-motherhood classes and individual home visits (from pregnancy through 1 year postpartum) from PHNs employed in a county health department. Participants were predominantly Latina (64%) and African-American (11%) and from impoverished backgrounds. Infant health outcomes were determined based on medical record data; interviews and standardized questionnaires evaluated other program effects (e.g., maternal educational achievement and psychological status). Data were analyzed using Chi-square and repeated measures ANOVA. RESULTS: Infants of EIP mothers experienced significantly fewer total days (n = 74) and actual episodes (n = 14) of hospitalization during the first year of life than those receiving TPHN (n = 154, n = 24, respectively). Similarly, positive program effects were found for immunization rates. There were no group differences in emergency room visits or repeat pregnancy rates. Alcohol, tobacco, and marijuana use significantly increased from pregnancy through 1 year postpartum in both groups but remained markedly lower than rates prior to pregnancy (lifetime rates). CONCLUSIONS: These findings demonstrate the positive effects of a PHN home visitation program on health outcomes for children of adolescent mothers. Days of infant hospitalization were substantially reduced and immunization rates increased during the first year of life for children of EIP mothers. Greater efforts need to be directed toward preventing repeat pregnancy and return to substance use following childbirth in at-risk adolescent mothers.     

Effectiveness of a combined home visiting and group intervention for low income African American mothers: the pride in parenting program

Intervention strategies are needed to improve maternal and infant outcomes in minority populations living in poverty. Home visiting by nurses has improved outcomes for mothers and young children, but use of professional staff makes these programs expensive. Pride in Parenting was a randomized controlled trial of paraprofessional home visitation to provide health and developmental intervention for high-risk African American mothers in Washington, DC. This study proposed to test whether paraprofessional visitors drawn from the community could effectively influence health and mothers' parenting behaviors and attitudes. African American mothers with inadequate prenatal care were recruited at delivery and randomized to intervention or usual care groups. The intervention curriculum was delivered through both home visitation and parent-infant groups for 1?year. The intervention curriculum was designed to improve knowledge, influence attitudes, and promote life skills that would assist low-income mothers in offering better health oversight and development for their infants. Both intervention and usual care groups received monthly social work contact over the one-year study period to provide referrals for identified needs. The intervention participants improved their home environments, a characteristic important for promoting good child development. Mothers' perceptions of available social support improved and child-rearing attitudes associated with child maltreatment were reduced. Paraprofessional home visitors can be successful in improving the child-rearing environments and parenting attitudes for infants at risk, perhaps offering a less costly option to professional home visitors.     

The long-term effects of intimate partner violence on adolescent mothers' depressive symptoms

Adolescent mothers are at high risk of experiencing intimate partner violence (IPV) which may increase their likelihood of depressive symptoms in adulthood, yet little is known about the long-term effects of IPV on adolescent mothers' trajectories of depressive symptoms. The study reported here uses prospective data spanning 14 years from a study of 229 adolescent mothers from Washington State, USA to evaluate the effects of adolescent exposure to IPV on the trajectories of depressive symptoms over time, as well as the likelihood of depressive symptoms at age 28 years. After controlling for levels of economic insecurity, the results indicate that adolescent IPV and an early vulnerability to depression were significantly related to the intercept, but not the slope of the adult depressive symptom trajectories. Both cumulative and concurrent IPV predicted the likelihood of depressive symptoms at age 28 years. Follow-up analyses indicate that adolescent IPV is associated with greater levels of adult IPV, and that women who report both adolescent and adult IPV have the highest mean levels of depressive symptoms. These findings suggest that exposure to IPV in adolescence may alter the life course of young women, increasing their risk for continuing exposure to intimate partner violence in adulthood and its concomitant negative mental health effects. Efforts aimed at prevention and early intervention in IPV among adolescent mothers are important components of the clinical care of young mothers.     

Health and safety intervention with first-time mothers

A health education program was evaluated which used child development specialists as home visitors and served a population of first-time mothers living in rural communities. The evaluation compared health and safety outcomes between intervention and control groups. The research staff, separate from the intervention staff, collected data in the homes of 156 intervention and 107 control mothers when the infants were 6 and 12 months old. Significant group differences were found on health and safety outcomes. As compared with controls, the intervention mothers (i) had safer homes; (ii) were more likely to use birth control, thus had fewer pregnancies since birth of their first child; (iii) reported smoking fewer cigarettes; (iv) knew more about effects of smoking on their child's health and (v) were more likely to use health department services. In sum, mothers who received early education home visits from child development specialists experienced positive health and safety outcomes. It is highly recommended that a program such as this be implemented as part of health delivery program with new mothers and infants.     

"I thought there was no hope for me": a behavioral intervention for urban mothers with problem drinking

In this article, the authors evaluate the effects of a behavioral intervention for mothers with problem drinking who were infected with, or at risk for, HIV. They randomly selected 25 mothers from a larger longitudinal randomized controlled intervention trial for a qualitative interview. The authors found that mothers' participation in the program was facilitated by the development of a strong therapeutic alliance with the intervention facilitator and the use of a harm reduction approach toward alcohol and/or drug abuse. Mothers also reported that training in coping skills and the emphasis on parent-adolescent relationships were beneficial for program engagement and behavior change. The authors conclude from these results that treatment approaches that take into account the complexity of urban mothers' lives and substance use patterns can successfully engage and treat these women at high risk for adverse outcomes.     

Infant health effects of a nurse–community health worker home visitation programme: a randomized controlled trial

Background Home visiting is supported as a way to improve child health and development. Home visiting has been usually provided by nurses or community health workers (CHWs). Few studies compared the child health advantages of a nurse–CHW team approach over nurse prenatal and postnatal home visiting. Methods A randomized trial was conducted with Medicaid‐insured pregnant women in Kent County, Michigan. Pregnant women were assigned to a team intervention including nurse–CHW home visitation, or standard community care (CC) including nurse home visitation. Morbidity was assessed in 530 infants over their first 12 months of life from medical claims and reported by the mother. Results There were no differences in overall child health between the nurse–CHW intervention and the CC arm over the first year of life. There were fewer mother‐reported asthma/wheezing/croup diagnostics in the team intervention group among infants whose mothers have low psychosocial resources (13% vs. 27%, P = 0.01; adjusted OR = 0.4, P = 0.01). There were no differences in diagnosed asthma/wheezing/croup documented by medical claims. There were no differences in immunizations, hospitalizations and ear infections. Conclusions There was no strong evidence that infant health was improved by the addition of CHWs to a programme of CC that included nurse home visitation. Targeting such interventions at common health problems of infancy and childhood or at diagnosed chronic conditions may prove more successful.     

Sex,stressful life events,and adult onset depression and alcohol dependence: Are men and women equally vulnerable?

Higher rates of major depression (MD) among females, and of alcohol dependence (AD) among males, are among the most routinely reported findings in psychiatric epidemiology. One of the most often pursued explanations for sex differences in both disorders suggests that males and females have a differential vulnerability to stressors, which is manifested in sex-specific ways (MD for females, AD for males). However, existing evidence in support of this explanation is mixed. In the present study, we investigated sex differences in the association between stressful life events and MD and AD in a large national sample of adults in the United States (n = 32,744) using a prospective design. Logistic regression was used to estimate associations between stressful life events and both MD and AD; sex-specific effects of stress on MD and AD were evaluated by testing interaction terms between sex and stressors in the prediction of both outcomes. The number of stressful life events was predictive of first onset MD and AD. This was true for both males and females, and sex-by-stress interaction terms did not support the hypothesis that sex-specific responses to stressful life events lead to sex differences in first onset of MD and AD among adults. These results indicate the resistance of sex differences in MD and AD to simple explanations, and suggest the need for more nuanced models that incorporate both physiological and social aspects of vulnerability.     

Mother-Infant Interaction, Life Events and Prenatal and Postpartum Depressive Symptoms Among Urban Minority Women in Primary Care

Objectives: Prenatal and postpartum depression are significant mental health problems that can have negative effects on mother-infant interactions. We examined the relationships among mother-infant interactions, depressive symptoms, life events, and breastfeeding of low-income urban African American and Hispanic women in primary care settings. Methods: Participants were 89 African American and Hispanic women who were part of a larger mental health intervention study conducted in community health centers. Questionnaire data on depression, as well as negative and positive life events, were collected during pregnancy and at three-months postpartum, while mother-infant interaction observations and breastfeeding practice were only collected at three-months postpartum. Results: The ratings of maternal behavior for ‘depressed’ mothers did not differ from ‘nondepressed’ mothers. Except for gaze aversion behavior, infants' behavior while interacting with their mothers did not differ by maternal depression level. Hierarchical regression analyses revealed that maternal positive life events positively predicted infant interactional summary ratings, while maternal negative life events were inversely associated with maternal interactional summary ratings. Conclusions: To improve services in primary care, perinatal screenings for depression can help identify those women most at risk. When follow-up use of structured diagnostic instruments is not possible or cost-effective, clinician assessment of severity of depression will determine women with clinical levels of depression. Reducing negative life events is beyond the control of women or clinicians but cognitive interventions to help women focus on positive life events can reduce the deleterious effects of depression on mothers and their infants.     

Associations between Cross-Sector Collaboration and Family Outcomes in Evidence-Based Nurse Home Visiting

Home-visiting prevention programs must coordinate with other community providers to be most effective. However, the associations between collaboration and program outcomes are not well understood. This study aimed to examine the associations between cross-sector collaboration in Nurse-Family Partnership (NFP), a model home-visiting program, and client-level outcomes. We used 2018 survey data with NFP supervisors that assessed agency-level collaboration, as measured by relational coordination and structural integration with nine community provider types (including obstetrics care, substance use treatment, and child welfare). We paired the collaboration survey data with NFP program implementation data from 2014 to 2019 (n = 36,901) to examine outcomes including client retention, client smoking cessation, and childhood injury. We used random-intercept models with nurse-level random effects, controlling for client-level demographics and health, nurse-level demographics, and agency-level administrative and geographic factors. NFP is an evidence-based prenatal and early infancy home-visitation program delivered by nurses to low-income, first-time mothers. NFP is implemented by over 250 agencies across the United States by public health departments, nonprofit organizations, and health care systems. Sample NFP clients were on average 23 years old and predominately single. Of sample clients, 47.5% were white, 33% were African American, 11.5% reported another race, and 8% declined reporting; 31% of clients identified as Hispanic. Consistent with past research, we found unmarried women and those visited by nurses who ceased employment with NFP prior to the client’s child’s birth were more likely to drop out of the NFP program, while older women and high school graduates were more likely to remain in NFP. Greater relational coordination with substance use treatment providers (OR: 1.148, P < .001) and stronger structural integration with CPS (OR: 1.056, P < .001) were associated with improved client retention at birth, even after adjusting for multilevel factors. Structural integration with CPS remains significantly associated with client retention at 12-months postpartum. Greater nurse coordination with the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children—WIC (OR: 1.090, P < .05) as well as with substance use treatment providers (OR: 1.115, P < .05) was associated with increased prenatal smoking cessation. Stronger nurse coordination with WIC (OR: 0.875, P < .01) and greater integration with mental health providers (OR: 0.969, P < .01) were associated with decreased probability of self-reported emergency department (ED) use for childhood injury, while greater structural integration with WIC (OR: 1.022, P < .05) was associated with increased probability of ED use. Improving health care through relationships with other care providers is necessary to enhance the experience and outcomes of patients, particularly among high-need complex populations. This study provides early results suggesting cross-sector collaboration in a home-visiting setting that bridges health care and addresses social determinants of health has potential to improve the retention of clients. More research is needed to understand how collaboration may improve maternal-reported behaviors like smoking cessation and ED use for childhood injury. Our findings inform efforts to increase efficient delivery of prevention programs like NFP through intentional collaboration with cross-sectors, as well as for future agency development for NFP expansion, especially as the program moves toward integration with health care delivery systems. Blue Meridian Partners.     

Adolescent girls' anxieties -- role of stressful life events

The study aim was to examine stressful events among 300 adolescent girls 11-17 years old enrolled in school in India. 50.33% had illiterate mothers. 22.33% had mothers who had a primary education and 25.34% who had a secondary education. 82.33% (247) were from nuclear families, and 17.67% (53) were from joint families. The largest proportions reported financial problems (38.67%) followed by household moves (30.33%) and a close relative's death (27.33%). Other concerns reported were parental frequent change or loss of job (12.33%), involvement in a court case (4.67%), death of one or both parents (4.33%), and frequent parental arguments (1.33%) and serious family accidents (1.33%). No stressful events were reported by 31.69% (95 girls); 68.34% reported stressful family events. A significant correlation was found between anxiety and life in a nuclear family (p 0.001). Anxiety was also higher, but not statistically significantly so, among families with an illiterate mother and lower socioeconomic status. More anxieties were reported among girls with working mothers (68%) than non-working mothers (32%). A significant correlation was found between the score of life events and the number of girls reporting anxieties. Individual anxieties were reported for inadequate height (15.66%), fear of boys' teasing (12.33%), losing hair (11.60%), menstrual tensions (10.33%), weak eyesight (9.66%), pimples (9.33%), weakness (8.88%), lack of study time (5.67%), excessive weight (3.67%), dark complexion (2.66%), and bad teeth (2.00%); 55.34% reported these anxieties.     

Status of Birth Outcomes in Clients of the Nurse-Family Partnership

Background The Nurse-Family Partnership (NFP) is a national, evidence-based home visiting program currently serving over 30,000 first-time, low-income mothers. Prior to public implementation, three foundational randomized controlled trials demonstrated program effectiveness in achieving beneficial birth, child development, and maternal life-course outcomes. This study describes birth outcomes of contemporary NFP clients compared to a reference cohort, providing the first evidence of program effect on a nation-wide basis during scale-up. Methods A cohort of NFP clients beginning the program between 7/1/2007-6/30/2010 was compared to a reference cohort of first-time mothers from publicly available birth data (US Natality Data). Employing propensity score matching, NFP clients (n?=?27,195) were each matched to three controls based on maternal age, race-ethnicity, smoking status, education, and marital status. Measures of low birth weight and preterm birth were compared between clients and controls using McNemar’s Tests. Results Similar to the foundational trials, no significant difference in low birth weight was observed (NFP 9.4%, matched controls 9.6%, p?=?0.20). However, in contrast to the foundational trials, the incidence of preterm births in NFP clients was significantly lower than in matched controls (8.7% vs. 12.3%, respectively; p?<?0.0001). Discussion A recent review of NFP birth outcomes employing data pooling techniques (overcoming the statistical power limitations of the original foundational trials) has shown a trend toward a favorable program effect in the incidence of preterm births. The present study provides evidence of such an effect in a well-powered evaluation of recent clients during nation-wide scale-up, with these results meriting further confirmation.     

A randomized controlled trial of home visits by neighborhood mentor mothers to improve children's nutrition in South Africa

Malnourished children and babies with birth weights under 2500 g are at high risk for negative outcomes over their lifespans. Philani, a paraprofessional home visiting program, was developed to improve nutritional outcomes for young children in South Africa. One “mentor mother” was recruited from each of 37 neighborhoods in Cape Town, South Africa. Mentor mothers were trained to conduct home visits to weigh children under six years old and to support mothers to problem-solve life challenges, especially around nutrition. Households with underweight children were assigned randomly on a 2:1 ratio to the Philani program (n?=?500) or to a standard care condition (n?=?179); selection effects occurred and children in the intervention households weighed less at recruitment. Children were evaluated over a one-year period (n?=?679 at recruitment and n?=?638 with at least one follow-up; 94%). Longitudinal random effects models indicated that, over 12 months, the children in the intervention condition gained significantly more weight than children in the control condition. Mentor mothers who are positive peer deviants may be a viable strategy that is efficacious and can build community, and the use of mentor mothers for other problems in South Africa is discussed.     

Stressful life events and disordered eating behaviors: findings from Project EAT

Associations between stressful life events and disordered eating behaviors were examined in 1708 older adolescents. Stressful life events were positively associated with extreme weight control behaviors and binge eating in both male and female respondents, emphasizing the importance of screening for disordered eating behaviors among adolescents who report experiencing stressful life events.     

Effectiveness of a Combined Home Visiting and Group Intervention for Low Income African American Mothers: The Pride in Parenting Program

Intervention strategies are needed to improve maternal and infant outcomes in minority populations living in poverty. Home visiting by nurses has improved outcomes for mothers and young children, but use of professional staff makes these programs expensive. Pride in Parenting was a randomized controlled trial of paraprofessional home visitation to provide health and developmental intervention for high-risk African American mothers in Washington, DC. This study proposed to test whether paraprofessional visitors drawn from the community could effectively influence health and mothers’ parenting behaviors and attitudes. African American mothers with inadequate prenatal care were recruited at delivery and randomized to intervention or usual care groups. The intervention curriculum was delivered through both home visitation and parent-infant groups for 1 year. The intervention curriculum was designed to improve knowledge, influence attitudes, and promote life skills that would assist low-income mothers in offering better health oversight and development for their infants. Both intervention and usual care groups received monthly social work contact over the one-year study period to provide referrals for identified needs. The intervention participants improved their home environments, a characteristic important for promoting good child development. Mothers’ perceptions of available social support improved and child-rearing attitudes associated with child maltreatment were reduced. Paraprofessional home visitors can be successful in improving the child-rearing environments and parenting attitudes for infants at risk, perhaps offering a less costly option to professional home visitors.     

Six-Month Outcomes from a Randomized Controlled Trial to Prevent Perinatal Depression in Low-Income Home Visiting Clients

Perinatal depression (PD) has negative consequences for mothers and children and is more prevalent among women of low socioeconomic status. Home visitation programs serve low-income pregnant women at risk for PD. This study tested the efficacy of a group-based cognitive behavioral intervention (Mothers and Babies Course; MB) in reducing depressive symptoms and preventing the onset of perinatal depression among low-income women enrolled in home visitation. A randomized controlled trial was conducted. Seventy-eight women who were pregnant or had a child less than 6 months of age and who were assessed as at risk for PD were randomized to the MB intervention or usual home visiting services. Depressive symptoms were assessed at baseline and 1-week, 3- and 6-months post-intervention; depressive episodes were assessed with a clinical interview at the 6-month follow-up. Depressive symptoms declined at a significantly greater rate for intervention participants than usual care participants between baseline and 1-week, 3 and 6 months post-intervention. At the 6-month follow-up, 15 % of women who received the MB intervention had experienced a major depressive episode as compared with 32 % of women receiving usual care. Integrating mental health interventions into home visitation appears to be a promising approach for preventing PD. Cognitive behavioral techniques can be effective in preventing depression in perinatal populations and treating it.     

Having the Best Intentions is Necessary but not Sufficient: What would Increase the Efficacy of Home Visiting for Preventing Second Teen Pregnancies?

Objective: Identify ways to increase the impact a well-known home-based intervention—the Nurse Family Partnership (NFP)—has on conception rates among teenage mothers. Methods: Secondary analysis of data collected on 111, 13-to-19 years old, primiparas who were visited in their homes by nurses during, and for 2 years after pregnancy. Data bearing on assistance with family and career planning were culled from the nurses’ records. These were graded on a 3-point scale. Higher scores reflected more active, therapeutic interventions. The primary outcome was repeat pregnancy. Results: The pregnancy rate at 6, 12, and 24 months was 8.3%, 18.4%, and 28.1%. Teenagers who conceived were less likely to have used contraceptives during the previous six months than those who did not. Almost everyone received the recommended number of visits. However, discussions and active interventions related to lapses in contraceptive use were only documented during 30% of visits. Those who conceived had as many visits and discussions of this type as those who did not. Nurses rarely involved boyfriends and family. Other differences between teens that did and did not conceive support the NFP theoretical framework. Conclusions: Contrary to the stated aims of the intervention, the nurses rarely documented therapeutic interventions that could make repeated childbearing fit less harmoniously into the teenagers’ lives. The best way to strengthen the impact of this program on teen pregnancy rates is to deepen the nurses’ training so that they are able to intervene actively enough to bring about behavioral change in family planning.     

Maternal stressful life events and risks of birth defects

BACKGROUND: Several previous studies suggest that maternal stress may be associated with increased risk of certain birth defects. This study examined the association of maternal stressful life events with risks of several birth defects. METHODS: The data are from a recent, population-based case-control study. Telephone interviews were conducted with 1355 eligible case mothers and 700 control mothers. Maternal stress was measured by responses to 18 yes/no questions about life events that occurred from 2 months before through 2 months after conception. RESULTS: An increase in the stressful life events index (ie, number of "yes" responses to the 18 life-events questions) was associated with increased risk of cleft palate, cleft lip with or without cleft palate, d-transposition of the great arteries, and tetralogy of Fallot, after adjustment for maternal race-ethnicity, education, obesity, age, smoking, drinking, intake of folic acid-containing supplements, neighborhood crime, and food insecurity. For example, the odds ratio for a 3-unit change in the stress index was 1.45 (95% confidence interval = 1.03-2.06) for cleft palate. Increased stress was associated with an increased risk of spina bifida and anencephaly particularly among women who did not take folic acid supplements. A 3-unit change in stress was associated with a 2.35-fold increased risk of anencephaly among women who did not take supplements (CI =1.47-3.77) and a 1.42-fold increased risk among women who did (CI = 0.89-2.25). CONCLUSION: The adverse health effects of stress may include increased risks of certain birth defects.